Chapter 2: December 2013
That smells so good!
A few weeks later, I was exploring the beach, looking
for something to put in my tummy. I caught the delicious scent of chicken
cooking, and I followed my nose. The smell took me back to the nice white house
on the beach and toward the kind man.
I was about to step inside the house when I noticed
that a woman with short, curly hair was preparing the food. She wasn’t the
friend who had been feeding me.
I was a little afraid, but I was so very hungry I had
to take the risk. I lay down on a mat under the kitchen table and politely
waited for the new woman to notice me. Please don’t chase me away.
The woman finally saw me and made a funny noise,
“Hmph!” She pointed at the smaller cat and said, “Well, that’s Chica,” then pointed at the larger one. “This is Thomas, and who are you?” tilting her head like a puzzled dog.
I swished my short, bristly tail back and forth on the
tile floor. I tried to answer her, “guau-guau, jau-jau.” It roughly translates
to “woof-woof, ruff-ruff,” but she didn’t understand.
She laughed and picked up a square black object from
the kitchen counter, then started talking to it. “So. A dog?”
I could hear the man’s happy voice coming from the
black thing, “Yeah, his name is Sparky, and he’s yours. I’m returning to Japan,
and I can’t take him with me.”
Chuckling at the man's words, she put the device back
on the kitchen counter. She looked over at a bald man who was quietly sitting
at the table. “This is Sparky, and he’s now our responsibility.”
Her laughter gave me hope. Maybe she wouldn’t yell at
me or shoo me away.
The man leaned back in his chair so that he could see
me hiding under the table. He smiled at me and said, “Hola, Sparky, you
look hungry. I’m sure we have enough food to feed you, too.”
“Of course, we do,” the curly-haired woman said, with
another chuckle.
She took three little white plates from a cupboard.
She placed one scoop of food on each of two plates and a lot more on the third. I
was so happy when she set the larger portion in front of me instead of giving
it to the cats. It tasted awesome.
I ate and ate and ate until my tummy bulged, then I
carefully scrubbed the plate clean with my tongue. Nearby was a bowl of fresh
water, and I lapped up the cool liquid. My belly was full, and I felt so
sleepy.
I didn’t want the friendly people to be mad at me for
bringing beach sand and creepy crawlies into their home, so I went back outside
to the patio. I crawled into a shady spot, under the sofa, where I felt safe.
I snoozed and had a pleasant siesta, a nap. I dreamed about being adopted by these kind people and never worrying again about my next meal or where I could safely sleep. It was a very restful siesta.
Or
Death in the Vineyards Mysteries
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